St Andrew's day ink

[MacLowlife]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8381874.stm

[Smitty]

Yikes. Read the comments below the article for a rather negative view on those with Scottish heritage having the hubris to associate themselves with Scotland or Scots.

Whether those in Scotland wish to accept it or not, those of us across the pond have a unique perspective on our heritage, and many of us feel very close to our ancestral homeland.
I realize that nationality and ethnicity are different things, but I feel no need to disavow my Scottish heritage.

[BruceBC]

I have run into a few Scots who have taken a hard line - if you don't live (or were born and live) in Scotland then don't wear a kilt or "act' Scottish. In a few cases I tell them that many of my relatives fought and died with the Black Watch of Canada - while helping to save their nation. Yes, we are not Scottish ,according to their definition, but we have every-right to celebrate our Scottish roots. Even if we don't have Scottish roots we are all free people and can don a kilt and have a dram.

As a last point, I do bring up with the few hardheads that the best pipeband in the world is from Canada

[xena]

I have run into a few Scots who have taken a hard line - if you don't live (or were born and live) in Scotland then don't wear a kilt or "act' Scottish. In a few cases I tell them that many of my relatives fought and died with the Black Watch of Canada - while helping to save their nation. Yes, we are not Scottish ,according to their definition, but we have every-right to celebrate our Scottish roots. Even if we don't have Scottish roots we are all free people and can don a kilt and have a dram.

As a last point, I do bring up with the few hardheads that the best pipeband in the world is from Canada

Not to mention that Canada has more Highland and Scottish Regiments in our army than the UK does at present.

[Bigkahuna]

Not to mention that Canada has more Highland and Scottish Regiments in our army than the UK does at present.

I believe it was 15 at last count.

[Tobus]

The article posed the question, "what is the appeal of Scottish identity?" That's an interesting question.

I can't speak for people outside America (and I don't even pretend to speak for all Americans), but to me the answer is simple. Americans don't have much of a history or a culture of our own. Everything we are, we brought from somewhere else. Those who were born and raised in Scotland - and elsewhere in Europe and Asia - have a pretty good idea where they came from. They have a long history, plenty of cultural roots, etc. We Americans can only look back so far in our own history before we run up against the proverbial wall. We came from somewhere else. Where else would we look besides where we came from?

I think that most Europeans and folks born in the UK really can't understand what it's like not to have history. I would guess that the vast majority of Americans can only trace their family back a couple of generations. It's frustrating. So it's natural for Americans to idealize a culture they might happen to find in their muddled genealogy.

[Bugbear]

... I can't speak for people outside America (and I don't even pretend to speak for all Americans), but to me the answer is simple. Americans don't have much of a history or a culture of our own. Everything we are, we brought from somewhere else. Those who were born and raised in Scotland - and elsewhere in Europe and Asia - have a pretty good idea where they came from. They have a long history, plenty of cultural roots, etc. We Americans can only look back so far in our own history before we run up against the proverbial wall. We came from somewhere else. Where else would we look besides where we came from? ...

I'm puzzeled by this notion of Americans having no history or cultural roots.

[Phil]

I'm puzzeled by this notion of Americans having no history or cultural roots.

I know. For a nation which has existed independentlyfor over 200 years not to mention its colonial past before that it is puzzling. Is it because many Americans only see their culture as a reflection of the various cultures imported by immigrants? I don't believe that is entirely true, however the culture that is perceived as peculiarly American is all fairly recent. Coca-Cola, Hollywood, Jazz, cowboys etc..

[Bugbear]

I know. For a nation which has existed independentlyfor over 200 years not to mention its colonial past before that it is puzzling. Is it because many Americans only see their culture as a reflection of the various cultures imported by immigrants? I don't believe that is entirely true, however the culture that is perceived as peculiarly American is all fairly recent. Coca-Cola, Hollywood, Jazz, cowboys etc..

Well, I look at the underlying framework of those things you just listed and see roots going back centuries. I live in the desert South West which has a cultural flavor going back eons. Corn (maize) and beans as a traditional food, for example.

[Phil]

Well, I look at the underlying framework of those things you just listed and see roots going back centuries. I live in the desert South West which has a cultural flavor going back eons. Corn (maize) and beans as a traditional food, for example.

Exactly. And I wasn't trying to overlook native American history rather trying to answer the question of the historical roots of mainly European settlers.